WAKEFIELD - A woman who police said refused to leave the road and was dragged to her death by a hit-and-run driver has baffled authorities and rattled residents of this leafy suburban town.

The crash victim, who witnesses said had been sitting in the road and ignored the pleas of passersby to move, carried no identification or wallet. Yesterday afternoon, all police knew of her identity was that she was about 40 years old, 5-feet-5, and wore a long-sleeve white sweatshirt, jeans, and brown hiking sneakers.

"No one has come forward" to identify the victim or the driver, Wakefield Police Chief Richard E. Smith said. "We're looking for help, but clearly this is a lose-lose situation."

The crash occurred around twilight along Greenwood Street, a two-lane road that straddles the Melrose border. Shortly before 9 p.m., several residents said they heard a scream, then an explosive crash. Greenwood Street resident Dorothy Richards said she had been watching television with her husband and son when they leapt from their seats to see what had happened.

"The impact was so loud we thought it was two cars colliding," Richards said, standing in her front yard yesterday, her eyes filling with tears.

They were shocked to learn that a woman had been hit in front of their home and dragged nearly a quarter-mile. The victim's sneaker and sock lay in the street in front of her house, Richards said, and the body lay in the road in the distance. She said there also was a trail of long skid marks.

Richards said a panic-stricken woman and man told her they had seen the crash. The couple had been on an evening stroll when they saw a woman sitting in the roadway, Richards said. They stopped to tell her to move and that she was in danger, but the woman ignored them. Even when a car approached, the woman refused to budge. The couple jumped out of the way, but the car hit the woman.

Richards said the woman who had tried to intervene said she had chased the car, screaming unsuccessfully for the driver to stop. Police said the car was probably damaged, although not extensively, because the woman had been seated in the road.

Police did not disclose the identity of the witnesses yesterday, but confirmed Richards' account.

Greenwood Street resident Laura Small said she had just arrived home from an evening yoga class, when the witnesses shouted for her to call 911. Small said the woman was hysterical over what she had seen.

"The poor woman kept saying, 'She just can't be alive,' " Small said.

The victim was pronounced dead at Melrose Wakefield Hospital. Investigators, aided by State Police, closed off the road and conducted their investigation. Wakefield police Lieutenant Jack MacKay said the driver appeared to have been in a gray or tan car with a linked circle insignia like an Audi's. The windows were darkened.

"We find it difficult to believe that someone didn't know they hit something," MacKay said, "so we're treating it as a crime scene."

Wakefield police have asked anyone with information to call 781-246-6331.

Small and other Greenwood Street residents said they, too, were shocked.

"I just don't know how they could keep driving," Small said."

I'm perplexed and horrified!

And here is another investigation we can keep track of, too see if the Boston Globe follows up.

"Driver, 18, passenger killed in crash

An 18-year-old woman who was apparently driving too fast lost control of her car in Middleborough Monday night and crashed, killing herself and a young man riding in the passenger seat, State Police said. Keri Bigelow was driving a 1999 Oldsmobile Alero north on Interstate 495 at 8 p.m. when she lost control, flipped over, and hit a tree, State Police said. Bigelow and her passenger, Daniel Crocker, 22, died at the scene. The accident remains under investigation, according to State Police. The right lane of I-495 was closed for three hours while crews cleared the wreck. Bigelow and Crocker both lived in Middleborough (Boston GlobeAugust 27, 2008)."

How come some kids are "nobodies" that the Globe quickly forgets, while others are incessantly lauded?

About Me

All material published for educational purposes under Fair Use Doctrine.
Warning: Some commentaries may include profanity. I offer my apologies in advance for those who may be offended by the harsh language in response to outrageous lies.